The Theme of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay

The Theme of Young Goodman Brown This essay intends to develop an interpretation of the theme of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. To come by a clear notion of the theme of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is no easy task, thanks to the confusing style of the author. As A.N. Kaul says in the â€Å"Introduction† to Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays: Because Hawthorne was much given to evasions, mystifications, and prevarications of various sorts, because he repeatedly confuses the issues by shying sway from them, because he often talks of his fiction in terms of misty legends and faded blooms, because, in short, he seems frequently to disclaim his own vital interests, we must take care not to lose from sight those†¦show more content†¦Evil â€Å"becomes a monster with which he cannot cope. . . .† F.N. Cherry discovered a source in one of Cervantes’ Novelas ejemplares, â€Å"The Colloquy of the Dogs,† which contains all the important motifs of Hawthorne’s tale [â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†]. It is the life history of the dog Berganza, who is young and inexperienced at first, but gains insight into appearance and reallity, hypocrisy and righteousness, trying hard, at the same time, not to become cynical, though, as a dog, he has every right to be. The climax of his story is the meeting wi th an old witch, who. . . . (89-90) I’m sure that the close resemblance between this dog-tale and Hawthorne’s tale is not a very complimentary testimony regarding the theme of the latter. Terence Martin in Nathaniel Hawthorne talks about the difficult theme of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†: Assumed in the tale is a radical distinction between dream life and real life; the question proposed to Goodman Brown is into which of these categories good and evil naturally belong. At the outset of the story, Faith asks her husband to postpone his journey until sunrise and sleep in his own bed that night. . . . Mulling over the guilty purpose that has brought him into the forest, Goodman Brown recalls Faith’s talk of dreams. . . . In the forest he goes through a dreamlike experience. . . . The devil, furthermore, introduces a further notion of a dream. . . . Thus the counterpoised terms, dream andShow MoreRelated The Themes in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay3172 Words   |  13 PagesThe Themes in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† the reader finds several themes. These will be discussed in this essay.    Morse Peckham in â€Å"The Development of Hawthorne’s Romanticism† explains what he interprets Hawthorne’s main theme to be:    Once the self has been redeemed from society it can be explored in its own terms, and for this purpose Hawthorne developed his peculiar use of emblematic allegory. . . . This technique,Read MoreAn Analysis of Theme in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essays860 Words   |  4 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne, in his short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† details the frailty of human morality when he has the story’s protagonist (Goodman Brown) journey through the forest on All Hollows Eve to witness/participate in a witches’ Sabbath just to see what evil/sin is all about. During Young Goodman Brown’s journey, his faith is shaken as he witnesses those he respects the most also journeying to and participating in the witch’s Sabbath. In â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstratesRead MoreEssay about Theme of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown3036 Words   |  13 Pagesâ€Å"Young Goodman Brown† –   Theme  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚   The themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† are not as obvious as might be expected. This essay intends to present an interpretation of the tale along the lines of theme.    In reading Hawthorne’s tales, Herman Melville in â€Å"Hawthorne and His Mosses† (in Literary World, August 17, 24, 1850) makes discoveries relevant to the themes:    Where Hawthorne is known, he seems to be deemed a pleasant writer, with a pleasant styleRead MoreThemes And Imagery In Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown802 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Young Goodman Brown† written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a short narrative following the journey, both literal and metaphorical, of a young man, Goodman Brown. He sets off into the woods, meeting a rather interesting man who is quickly likened to the devil. Throughout the story, Hawthorne does use imagery to imply that the character depicting the devil influenced Goodman Brown to follow a path of evil. However, he also is careful to show that while the â€Å"devil† was an influence, it was ultimately GoodmanRead MoreThe Theme Of Faith In Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown945 Words   |  4 PagesHawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, is a coming of age story of saints and sinners. Goodman Brown, our main character and narrator, leads us through his experience of the forest and the t emptations to give into sin. Yet, it seems he is the most affected within this journey, by his wife of 3 months—Faith. Faith, as well as the puritan society’s as a whole—is represented as innocence and pure. As the story progresses any reader can conclude that not one member of the puritan society is untainted fromRead MoreThe Dichotomy of Self Reliance and Conformity1169 Words   |  5 PagesRomanticism Period. An incredible number of miraculous masterpieces were contrived during this period of enlightenment, including Nathaniel Hawthorne’s dramatically thematic and ambiguous short story, â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†, as well as Ralph Waldo Emerson’s intriguingly influential and uplifting essay, â€Å"Self-Reliance†. Hawthorne’s writing aspires to implicate theories and themes about the reality of the world we live in and to illustrate our individual limitations through the art of symbolism and irony. EmersonRead MoreAnalysis O f Young Goodman Brown1179 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is an odd story with a deeper meaning than is apparent on the surface. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† in 1835 with what seems like the intentions of gothic and romance features. However, looking further into the story of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† it is clear to see that there is a possibility that the imagery displayed can lead to some interesting theories behind Hawthornes purpose, imagery, and symbolism in the text. Throughout the story, HawthorneRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown1065 Words   |  5 PagesWhen it comes to the topic of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, most of us will readily agree that duplicity is a major theme in the piece, or the idea of different versions of reality. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether Hawthorne is implying that man is inherently evil. Whe reas some are convinced that Young Goodman Brown was good until tainted by the Devil, others maintain that he was evil from the beginning and was completely aware of the evil heRead More Ambiguity in Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay1743 Words   |  7 PagesAmbiguity in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚         There is no end to the ambiguity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†; this essay hopes to explore this problem.    Peter Conn in â€Å"Finding a Voice in an New Nation† makes a statement regarding Hawthorne’s ambiguity:      Almost all of Hawthorne’s finest stories are remote in time or place. The glare of contemporary reality immobillized his imagination. He required shadows and half-light, and he sought a nervous equilibriumRead MoreYoung Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne865 Words   |  4 Pagesequally, if not more, serpent-like staff carrying dark companion. This respectable man is Young Goodman Brown, as portrayed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. The forest is only a small part of the setting, as this also takes place in a village in Salem Massachusetts and surrounding area the year 1692. The mood is heavy with superstition, confusion, doubt, betrayal, and shallowness. Goodman Brown sets the exposition as he parts with his sweet, pink-capped wife, Faith, to leave at